My Mass Effect
by TheTwilightBiotic
Summary: Andrew Nervars and Jane Shepard are best friends, but can their friendship survive the hardships of Mass Effect (Starts as colonists and will go over all three games)
1. Chapter 1

I hate school.

We're a small colony so everyone fits into one class and we only have one teacher, but listening to her blab on about random crap that most of us will never need to know as we'll never leave this colony and will probably end up as farmers.  
Like our parents.

I swear, if it wasn't for Jane being in my class I would probably skip school completely.  
But being able to see her and to have silent conversations from across the room was enough, and being able to see her anytime during the school day, with her long red hair, flowing perfectly down her back, never wearing an makeup but clearly not needing any as she was already so beautif-

I shake my head and focus on what the teacher was saying, and stared writing down the useless information to avoid getting in trouble.

The bell rang for the end of the day and the class evacuated like the place was on fire.

Well, the class apart from Jane and I who always packed slower than the others to avoid the initial rush of people.

After I was packed I walked over to Jane and waited for her to finish packing before we started on getting home.

"So that was boring," Jane said, brushing her hair back over her shoulder.

"Tell me about it. Time flies when you're having fun, but in school it just drops out of the sky dead."  
Jane laughed a little.

"Tell me about it. You'd think that we would at least learn about important things. Like what happens to teenager biotics without implants.." She looks around and lets her hand glow blue, holding it in front of her.  
"We will be fine Jane, we're just-"  
"What?" Jane whirled on me. "We're just stronger? Even without the implants, we can do more then people with L2's can, and they're supposed to be the strongest! Some even as strong as Asari.."  
I frowned.  
"I know, but we just have to do as our parents say, if the Alliance find out then they'll want to train us or something. Then we'd have to leave our families and join with a bunch of strangers and-"  
"I know Andrew, and that isn't worth it. Calm down, okay?"

Jane slowed down and hugged me, whispering "It will all be okay, nothing can split us up, best friends are forever."

I sighed, Jane had a habit of getting me worked up then knowing just how to calm me down.

The temperature dropped steadily as Jane and I walked back to my place, and Jane started shivering as she had neglected to bring a jacket.

Again.

"You know, you should really start bringing warmer clothing, you know how cold it gets here," I said, slipping out of my coat.

Jane glanced at me and smiled.

"Now, why would I need to do that when I have you to lend me a hand?"  
I looked at her, looking as serious as I could.

"Maybe because someone like me has other intentions in mind.."

Then I moved as fast as I could before she could react and started tickling her.

Jane yelped and tried pushing me away but I was stronger than her, and she had to suffer the tickling for a few minutes, her trying to tell me to stop in a serious voice but having it ruined by fits of laughter.

I tossed the coat to her and she grabbed it, shooting an evil glance at me as she put it on, but the slight smile she was trying to hide ruined it.

We finally got to my house and I opened the door:  
No need for locks on such a small colony, everyone knew everyone else, if something went missing and someone else tried selling it, there would be hell to pay.

I stepped to the side and did a small bow, using a fake post voice I said, "After you, M'lady."  
Jane laughed as she walked past, and in a similar accent replied with, "Why thank you, kind sir," giving a small curtsey and we both laughed before dumping our bags in my room and going to the kitchen to make some real lunch, as the slop the school provided both looked and tasted like dust mixed with bread dough.

"You up for a chicken sandwich?" I asked Jane, who was sitting on the counter.  
She nodded and moved to get the bread while I went to the fridge to get the chicken out.

After a few hours, my mother came home with some groceries, which Jane and I assisted in putting away.

My mother looked to Jane.  
"So you're staying over again?"  
Jane nodded, and my mother smiled.

"Good, so we can get you two trained a little more with your biotics then. Excuse me for a minute," my mother went upstairs to her room, while Jane and I looked at eachother a little uneasily.  
'Red sand?' Jane mouthed to me.

I nodded. 'I think so,' I mouthed back.

My mother came back downstairs, glowing softly with biotic energy.

"So, where did we leave off last time?"

After four hours of biotic training all three of us were exhausted and my mother sent us to my room to relax while she made us dinner and some juice to help us regain our energy.

"That session was harder than usual, like she is trying to prepare us for something," Jane said as we sat on my bedroom floor.

"Preparing us? For what?" I asked, a little confused but also curious to know what she was thinking.

"Well, I was thinking that something might be happening, or is going to happen, that she wants us to be able to help with. Or..." Jane bites her lip.  
"Or.. what?" I ask.  
Jane looks me in the eye and says, "Or she's using us as an excuse to feed a red sand addiction."


	2. Chapter 2

(This took way too long, I'll try to post more often.)

I looked at Jane, frowning, my face unreadable.

Then I leant forwards and hugged her tightly, relief flooding through my body at knowing that Jane had realized the changes that had gone through my mother since she started taking the red sand.

"You've noticed too," Jane said, hugging me back, clearly just as relieved as I was.

"What should we do? If she does have an addiction, then we can't let her carry on, can we?" Although I was older than Jane by a day, she was always better at taking charge of difficult situations.

Jane bit her bottom lip, and shook her head.

"We need to talk to her about this, Andrew. It is too serious if she has an addiction."

I nod in agreement as my mother calls us downstairs to eat.

After a dinner of roast chicken with beef, mash potato and way too much gravy, Jane nodded at me, then started the awkward conversation.

"Um, Rachael.."  
"Yes, Jane?"  
"There's something Andrew and I need to talk to you about..."  
She looked at us both with confused eyes and I realized she was shaking slightly, her skin much paler than usual.

Worry rushed through me and I started talking.  
"Mum, I think that you should stop teaching us biotics now, we know more than enough to hide them."

Rachael opened her mouth to say something when there was a loud explosion from somewhere outside, causing the ground itself to shake.

The living room wall exploded inwards, a devastating heat washing through the kitchen with it.

"What's going-" Is all I managed to say when the Batarian's ran into the house, through the dust.  
And the last thing I see before darkness absorbs my vision is a Batarian's rifle coming towards my face.

I opened my eyes and an instant later regretted it, a pounding headache ripping through my consciousness.  
_Ouch.. _I thought, rubbing my head. I noted that I was lying on my back and the ground was swaying slightly under me. _Wait, the ground doesn't move..._  
_Where am I, anyway?_ I forced my eyes open, gritting my teeth against the pain and found that I was on some kind of cart that the colonists used to transport vegetables and such around the small colony.

I forced myself up and leant back against the back of the cart, my legs bound together to keep me from running.

My head erupted in agony and I held it in both my hands, oblivious to everything until I felt something touching my arm and became aware of a voice coming from my right.

"Andrew... are you alright?"  
_I know that voice.._

"Jane, where are we?"  
"We're on a cart, I've seen other Batarians fighting men, human men, as we go past.

These are slavers I think, we need to get out of here and to the soldiers as fast as we can."

"But what about my mother? Your older brother?"

She shook her head.

"I'm sorry Andrew, they already took your mother, and if my brother is anywhere then it's with the sol-"  
"What do you mean they took her?" I ask, anger and fear numbing the pain in my head enough for me to take my arms away.

"They.." Jane bit her bottom lip. "They injected something into her head and after that... She did everything they asked without hesitation. If we got her back, she wouldn't be the same anymore.." Jane stopped when she saw the look on my face.

"Jane, we're going after her." Biotics flaring, I cut through the leather bonds on my and Jane's legs and looked around, headache starting to subside with my use of biotics.

"No, we're not." Jane said, a sense of finality in her voice, no room to argue.  
"Well, that do you suggest we do!?" I shouted at her, biotics glowing with my shout, not caring if any nearby Batarians could hear me.

"I suggest we try to find the Alliance soldiers, if we want to find your mother and my brother, then they will help us. It's why they're here, right?"

I frowned, trying to think past my emotions.

"It does make sense, but I can't just leave her here with these monsters.."

"We aren't leaving her," Jane said, putting her hand on my shoulder and looking deep into my eyes. "We're getting help to find her."

I think some more, and finally nod.

"Good," Jane said and looked around. "There's been no Batarians around for almost an hour now, they must all be fighting the soldiers." She looked at me.  
"Follow me, Andrew."


	3. Chapter 3

"Jane, where did you see the Alliance soldiers?"

"I told you, just down here."

"Jane, you said that three hours ago, and we've run into six Batarians since then. I think we're lost."  
Jane looked at me, frowning slightly, then shook her head.

"Andrew, neither of us have ever been so far out of the village, of course we're lost! But the longer we stay lost then the longer these Batarian bastards get to rampage through any people they still have! Can't you see tha-"

She stopped and cocked her head before grinning brightly at me.

I frowned.

"Jane, what are you-" Then I heard it, excitement and dread replacing my weariness.

There was the faint sound of a firefight somewhere in the distance.

_The soldiers! _I thought. _We need to get there, they might need help..._

Without another word, Jane and I were running at top speed towards the sound of gunfire.

_Because this is what any sane person would do, run TOWARDS the sound of guns..._

After a few minutes we found ourselves behind about six Batarians, with the bodies of four more lying behind them.

_Are they...?_ I closed my eyes and shuddered.

I looked at Jane.

"We can't take them in a fight," I whispered to her.

She nodded, showing that she agreed.

"Biotic charge at the wall over there?" I asked, pointing at a brick wall behind the Alliance's defences.

Jane opened her mouth to reply when a Batarian turned towards us, aiming his rifle.

"Now!" Jane shouted, her biotics glowing a bright blue and a trail already starting as she used her charge.  
I did the same, feeling my whole body buzz with the biotic use, grinning as the feeling took over, past the Batarian's bullets, and the wall was getting closer much faster than anyone could imagine without a ship.

I hit the wall with more force than I had planned, collapsing onto my back next to Jane, and four guns trained themselves on us within a second.

"Stop!" A man's voice shouted. "They're human!"

I stared at a hand in front of my face and blinked multiple times to focus my eyes, then saw that the man who'd spoken was offering to help me up.

I took his hand and he pulled me to my feet.

I studied his face.

He had light green eyes and was growing some stubble. He had laugh lines but they were very faint, I guessed he was about twenty five.

He frowned slightly.

"Are only you two left?" He asked me.

"What do you mean?" I asked him, dread filling my whole system, replacing the relief and excitement.

"Haven't you found others?" Jane asked, trying to sound confident but her voice betrayed her fear.

The man's frown deepened and he shook his head.

"Doesn't matter, both of you need to get out of here. Now."

I opened my mouth to say something when Jane walked past me, her biotics flaring in anger.

"Look here you bloody idiot, I've grown up with these people, I consider each and every one of them as a member of my family and you WILL tell me what is going on!"

The soldier frowned and aimed his gun at Jane.

"Look here, I have been fighting to save you and your _family_," He said the word as sarcastically as he could. "So I'm tired, fed up, and I just saw two of my friends die, so you will do as you are told!"

Jane opened her mouth and closed it, deciding to not get herself in any more trouble with the men that were doing all they could to keep us safe.

The man nodded.

"Then follow me to the ship, this colony is getting shut down."

I opened my mouth to object, but a well-placed elbow from Jane silenced me before I spoke.

"Don't." Jane whispered.

"We need to follow their lead or we'll make an enemy of the people we need to help get the rest of the colony.

Six Hours Later.

Jane and I sat in the ship's med bay to make sure that my head wound wasn't too bad.

"Damn Jane, you'd think I'd have been shot with the attention these doctors are showing me," I said with a little smirk.

Jane looked at me, deadly serious.

"Andrew, they're making sure that the Batarians didn't inject one of those bloody slavery things into your brain."

All humour dropped right out of my body and was replaced with dread.

"Oh, yeah. Right." I said, frowning.

At that moment, the man that we met outside came into the room and sat down, in front of us.

"Kids, we're stopping the search." He said, in a very monotone voice.

"You're what!?" Jane and I both shouted at the same time.

"We've gone through the whole colony, there just isn't anyone left. I'm.."

"You what? You're _sorry?_" I shouted, losing my temper completely.

"You aren't fast enough to save anyone apart from us, and now you come in here, acting like you give a damn when in reality-"

The man stood up and advanced towards me, rage fixed all over his face.

He crouched in front of me and looked me directly in the eye before saying.

"My name is Damien Hutchins," he said simply before returning to his spot at the wall.

"As in Mrs Hutchins' son?" Jane asked, her voice showing the shock that had flowed through my system.

The man nodded and looked at me.

I frowned and suddenly felt a wave of guilt.

"Man, I'm sorry. I honestly didn't know.."

He shook his head.

"It's fine," he replied. "I just wanted you to know that I really do care about what has happened."

I nodded grimly and he returned it before I leant back against the wall and just... broke down in tears, Jane crawling over to hug me.

"It will be okay, Andrew. I promise you, it will all be okay..."

**A few years later, Jane and I joined the Alliance. **

**Five years after that, we were both sent to find a missing colonial pioneer team on Akuze, a whole unit of 50 soldiers with us.**

**That is where the next part of this story takes place.**


	4. Chapter 4

"So.. we're going to Akuze?" I asked Jane as we headed onto the shuttle with eight other soldiers.

Jane smirked.

"You know Andrew, one day you'll need to start listening to what our superiors say before you get into real trouble."  
I shrugged.  
"I listen when it comes to things that matter to me. Like biotic training or combat practice." I grinned.

Jane rolled her eyes and explained about the mission.

"A pioneering team has gone missing in Akuze, and we're being sent in to find out why they've gone dark and if possible, regain connection."

I frowned.

"This seems really easy," I said. "I'm guessing it's a big place to need so many of us to find them. Possibly a violence threat."

Jane nodded. "That's what I was thinking."

The shuttles landed and we all scrambled off.

It was around then that I noticed that almost everyone around us were new recruits, leaving Jane and I as the highest ranks there.

"Jane, are we-"  
She looked at me smirking. "Yes Andrew, we are leading this."

I frowned slightly and nodded.

"Okay, so we need to split into several groups to search faster and cover more ground... I'd say groups of five. That way we will cover more ground and still be prepared for a fight. Not to mention all of us have communicators in our helmets," I said.

Jane nodded approvingly. "Maybe you're paying more attention than I give you credit for, Andrew. Now, do you think we should regroup to sleep or stay in our groups?"

I thought for a few seconds before replying.

"Each group should meet up with another, and one person needs to keep guard at any one time," I concluded.

Jane nodded again and smirked.

"Why the smirk?" I asked.

Jane shook her head, still smirking.

I decided to let it go.

I nodded at Jane to tell everyone what the plan was going to be while I hung around behind her, wondering what we was going to find in the temporary camps.

Jane joined me after she'd assigned everyone to their teams and we went to meet up with ours.

"Okay team," Jane said, taking charge.

"We're going north to see if there is anything left behind in the main camp."  
Without hesitation we headed off towards the camp, several other groups going in the same direction.

I frowned, a huge sense of unease flooding through my body.

_Why does this place give me such an eerie feeling?_ I wondered.

A few hours later as we were searching through the camp, hundreds of blue tents with some strange melted patches and huge holes in the ground, seeming to act as some kind of tunnels, we found our first evidence.

"Hey, over here!" One of the younger guys on our team shouted to us.

We made our way over to see several men wearing casual clothes. Or what was left of them.

Most of the clothes had been burned away, the skin underneath melted horrifically, bits of clothing mixed into the melted patches.

One of the soldiers gagged and ran off, puking into a bush.

Horror filled me as I looked at the corpses of what used to be people.

Now they were simply melted husks, bits of bone sticking out where the skin had melted too much and was starting to rot away, the stench of melted skin and rotting flesh heavy in our nostrils.

"Jane, time to regroup with everyone else. We need to rest and find out what could have done this," I looked up at the sun, guessing we had only an hour or so before dark. "We also need to get some rest for tomorrow."

Jane nodded at me, not saying a word.

"'Everyone, regroup at the shuttles, we all need to talk,'" I said through my radio and we all jogged back to the shuttles.

"Alright everyone, this may be more difficult than we initially thought," I started off.

"I'm assuming you've all seen something of the pioneer team, correct?" Jane continued.

When most of the soldiers around us nodded, I carried on.

"We initially thought this would be no more than a 'find out why they stopped communicating' mission. It turns out, this is now a 'find the killers'. From the wounds we found on the.. the bodies, Shepard and I have decided that there is no possible way that anything human or a similar species could have done this. We think it may be some kind of animal, and because of this, we will be making camp here immediately."

There was a shocked and worried silence meeting my words, and then everyone started making camp at once, putting out some tents and pulling out sleeping bags as the shuttles were impossible to sleep in due to the sheer heat that build inside them.

No one felt like eating after what most of them had seen that day, so apart from three guys that stayed for the first watch, including me, went straight to a stunned, exhausted sleep.

If only we knew what was really about to happen...


	5. Chapter 5

The gunshots woke me up.

_Damn it, I fell asleep_ I thought.

_Wait, gunshots?_

I shot up, grabbing my pistol and looking to see what was happening, confusion setting in.

That's when the screech came, and my blood turned to ice in my veins.

_Thresher Maw!_

And then I realized that these were new recruits. They had no idea what we were facing, and this was a battle we couldn't win.

I tried my best to find Jane, but the inky darkness around me was impenetrable.

"Everyone!" I shouted as loud as I could.

"We can't win this fight! We need to RUN!"

And with that, I took off in the opposite direction of where I heard the screeching.

And suddenly there was another screech from in front of me.  
_Shit, another one.._

Another screech from my left, another from my right.

Even more, seeming to come from all directions.

_No running, then._

"Then we fight!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, biotics flaring around me, illuminating a scene that I swear came right out from a nightmare.

Everywhere I looked, bodies were lying all around me.  
I started counting and my heart dropped, tears flowing freely from my eyes.

_Forty seven... _

My biotics faded and I noticed the gunshots had stopped completely.  
I had them glow again, and saw all seven Threshers were focusing directly on me.

"Fuck," Is all I had time for before my shields were being decimated and I biotic charged a rock in the distance, the buzz of biotics filling my veins and I just kept charging away, faster and faster until I just couldn't anymore. And then...

...Everything faded to darkness, and I blacked out.

_I was in a green meadow._

_Looking around, I could see all kinds of plants, small flies, and a unrelenting sun beating down on everything, illuminating it in a light, making it almost impossible to keep my eyes open._

"_Hey there, Andrew." Jane said, walking up behind me._

_I smiled. She was wearing a plane T-shirt and blue shorts. "Hey Jane, how's it going?"  
She frowned. "Not well." She turned around and lifted her shirt, showing a horrific melted patch of flesh, slowly increasing in size._

"_Jane! You need medigel and an anti-acid injection. Now!"  
She shook her head._

"_It's just you and me now, Andrew. I need you to come back... I really need you.."  
I nodded.  
"I'm on my way Jane. I promise.."_

_She smiled._

"_Then** wake up."**_

The damp ground was uncomfortable against my face, my armor pressing onto the right side of my body.

_That's going to bruise.._ I thought, pushing myself to my knees, creating a barrier around myself.

_Jane needs me.._

I push myself to my knees.

_Jane needs me..._

I force myself to my feet, energy completely drained.

_Jane needs me... _

I turn, my body screaming for rest and force my eyes open.

_Jane needs me... _

I look around, the sun was rising and I could finally see.

_Jane needs me... _

I start walking towards the camp, easily four miles from where I was now.

_Jane needs me... _

I close my eyes and force myself to use biotics.

They glow weakly around me.

"Biotic..." They flare into life around me, and I shout the next word as I go, not setting a target, just going as fast as I can.

"Charge!"  
The world around me blurs, my biotics going into overdrive, running off of my determination which quickly crumbled, and when my biotics faded, I was propelled forwards, sliding across the ground on my stomach for what seemed like hours.

When I finally stopped, I made myself roll over and take my armor off, my barrier depleted with the biotic charge.

When I was wearing just a vest and boxer shorts, I forced myself to my feet again, my whole body screeching with weariness.

I tripped and fell six times before I made it to our camp.  
Or what was left of it.

Bodies were everywhere, the bodies melting but not rotting away yet.

"Jane!" I called quietly.  
I frowned and cleared my throat.

"Jane!" I shouted, much louder.

"Jane, where are you?" I called, hobbling amongst the bodies, feeling very sick and my vision blurred with tears.

"Jane..." I whispered, surrounded by an imaginary blackness that was closing in around me, invading my body, filling me so completely that maybe it was best just to give up...

"Andrew?" A faint voice cut through the black.

"Jane?" I asked, barely believing it.

"Down here, bro," a faint chuckle following it.

The blackness started retreating, fading away as I looked down to see a very battered Jane Shepard.

"Jane!" I exclaimed as the rest of the black faded and I stumbled to her side, collapsing to my knees.

"You're not hurt?" Jane asked, concern planted all over her face.

I frowned. "Don't worry about me, what about you? Are you alright?"

Jane closed her eyes.  
"My back burns, Andrew. Really burns. And I can't get out of my armor."  
I closed my eyes.  
"Jane, this is going to hurt." With that I summoned the rest of my strength and helped her out of her armor, so she was just wearing a t-shirt and shorts, keeping her on her stomach with her head to the side.

Her back was a mess, the skin melted with bits of armor and red patchy flesh mixed in.

"Shit, Jane.."  
"Is it bad?"  
"Kinda..."  
"Andrew, can you do anything?"  
"No, not here. We need to get out of here, now."

Jane frowned.  
"But I can't move, and you.." Jane looked at me closely. Well, as closely as someone laying on their stomach with with their head on the ground could, and her face willed with concern.

"Andrew, you look wasted."

I grinned. "It feels worse than it looks," I said as a wave of weariness flooded my system and I had to fight to avoid blacking out.

"Andrew, we need to get out of here," Jane said. "The Threshers are gone, but.."

I made myself stand and grab Jane's arm.  
"We are leaving." I said simply, trying to pull her towards the shuttle.  
And that's when it exploded.

Because my day was going so well as it was.


	6. Chapter 6

I was thrown back about six feet by the burning force, my head cracking against the hard dirt ground.

A huge Thresher Maw ripped out of the ground a where the burning shuttle was, letting off a gut-wrenching screech.

A few seconds later huge bullets were ripping through the creature, causing it to shriek and writhe before falling to the ground.  
_Shit.. _Is all I had time to think before darkness swept over my vision, and I blacked out.

_Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep...Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep...Beep... Beep... Beep..._

I was laying on something soft and felt warm all over, a tingling sensation, like I was using biotics but this was less.. potent.  
_Medi-Gel? _I thought lazily, opening my eyes slightly.

The room around me was a pale grey, and there was beds with white sheets and weird machines around them.

_Ah, I'm in a medical station. Most likely aboard a ship. That's nice.._ My eyes started to close again when an image of Jane lying injured burned across my mind.

"Jane!" I shouted, sitting up quickly, causing a needle to fall out of my arm and the machine next to me went into a long monotone 'Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep'.

A panicked doctor ran into the room, his face contorted in fear until he saw me, then he relaxed a bit and walked over to me.  
"You're finally up," He noted.  
I frowned.  
"Where's Jane?" I asked, impatience starting to rise.

The man frowned. "Shepard is being operated upon to make sure that her back isn't going to get infected and to remove the bits of armor in her back wound. Who got her out of her armor?"

I blushed a little. "I did, I needed to assess the damage to her back wound and see if there was anything I could do about it."  
The doctor nodded, an approving look on his face.

"I'm going to need you to rest now, Nervars," the doctor said. "You're not fully healed yet and the Medi-Gel is still talking effect. Shepard will be out of operating in a few hours, she will be moved to this room. But don't try to wake her up, let it happen on it's own." The man gave me a warning look as he walked out of the room, and I leant back on my pillow.

_A few hours, eh? I guess I can close my eyes for a while, then..._

_'Andrew? Andrew, are you there?'_

_I opened my eyes and found myself laying in an amazing greed meadow that seemed to stretch forever in all directions, bright flowers sprouting from the brilliant green grass everywhere I looked._

_And then I saw her, more beautiful than any flower could hope to be._

_Her red hair flowing long past her shoulders, her ruby red lips forming my name as her eyes filled with beautiful joy as she started running over to me, the emerald green dress she was wearing flaring behind her as she ran into my arms._

_'You came back for me..' she said, seeming to not quite believe it._

_'Of course I did,' I said, smiling back at her._

_'Why, though? You could have died coming back for me.'_

_I smiled shyly at her._

_'I had to come back for you Jane. I always do what I can for the people I love.'_

_Jane stared at me for a moment, then hugged me close and whispered in my ear, 'I love you too.'_

_And with that, she leant back to look into my eyes, then slowly leant forwards, her lips an inch from mine..._

"Wake up, sleepyhead!"

A pillow thrown at my face wrenched me from my pleasant dream.

"Ah, you're finally up," Jane said, laughing.

"Wha- when did you get out of operating?" I asked groggily.

"Three days ago, you've been asleep since I woke up yesterday."

"What?" I sat up quickly and gave myself a headrush, causing me to rub at my eyes pointlessly.

"I recently got word from Command." Jane said.

Fear and regret clutched my heart.

"Yeah?" I asked. "What did they say?"

Jane shook her head. "It's a miracle that we are alive, bro," Jane said.

I nodded, feeling a stab of pain at her words.

"So no one else-?"

Jane just shook her head.

"Did they say anything else?" I asked, me head down.

Jane nodded this time and said, "We're both being promoted to 'Commander', and being assigned to the ship that is currently under construction, 'The Normandy'.

(Okay, now that I'm done with the backstory, we will be skipping to the events of Mass Effect 1, so I'll be putting in more detail and longer posts and stuffs ^-^)


	7. Chapter 7

"**The Arcturus Prime Relay is engaged. Initiating transmission sequence.**

Jane was making her way towards the cockpit where Joker, Kaidan and I were working, chatting a little as we did so.

"**We are connected. Calculating transit mass and destination."**

Jane started making her way along the small stretch that leads to the cockpit, men working on either side of the small tunnel-like walkway.

"**The Relay is hot. Acquiring approach vector. All stations secure for transit."**

Jane stopped just inside the cockpit and watched us work as we approached the Relay, a thoughtful look on her face.

"**The board is green. Approach run has begun."**

"**Hitting the Relay in three... Two... One..."**

The ship shuddered slightly and all systems around us went hyper with activity, something Jane and I had quickly adjusted to since being assigned to this ship.

And then came the slight feeling of weightlessness that was associated with using the Relays, moving at such an enormous speed wasn't the best thing for a body, no matter what you are surrounded by.

"Thrusters... check. Navigation... check. Internal emissions sink engaged. All systems online. Drift..." Joker smirked. "Just under 1500 K."

A voice from behind made us all jump, Joker, Kaidan, Jane and myself.

"1500 is good," Nihlus said while sounding like he really couldn't care less.

"Your captain will be pleased."

Then he turned on his heel and marched off, showing no point to why he even came up here.

_Asshole.._ I thought, frowning slightly.

"I hate that guy," Joker mumbled.

"You too?" I asked.

Joker nodded slightly, and Kaidan said, "Nihlus gave you a compliment... and so you hate him?"

Joker clearly took offence to this and almost shouted "You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom? That's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead. So that's incredible!"

_Dammit Kaidan, don't piss him off..._

"Besides," Joker continued. "Spectres are trouble, I don't like having him on board. Call me paranoid." The last part was mumbled under his breath.

Kaidan raised an eyebrow.

"You're paranoid. The Council funded this project, they have a right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment."

"If you're an idiot that believes the official story," I decided to jump in.

"Exactly, Andrew!" Joker exclaimed. "See Commander? This guy understands."

Jane sighed. "Do you two always have to assume the worst?"

Joker and I looked at eachother before looking over at Jane and saying simultaneously, "Yeah, kinda."

"Well, bad feelings could be an occupational hazard.." I mumbled.

"But we don't go anywhere without a reason..." Joker said.

"So what are we doing going to Eden Prime?" I finished.

Captain Anderson called over Joker's terminal, silencing all talk.

"Joker! Status report."

"Just cleared the Relay, Captain. Stealth systems are engaged, everything looks solid."

"Good, find a comm buoy and link us into the network. I want mission reports relayed back to Alliance Brass before we reach Eden prime."

"Aye aye, Captain." Joker said.

I smirked. "You might want to watch out Captain," I said jokingly. "Nihlus is heading in your direction."

"He's already here, Commander."

_Oops... _

I run my hand through my hair and sigh as Anderson says, "Get Commander Shepard and both of you meet me in the comm room for a debriefing."

The signal cuts and Joker looks at me questioningly.

"Yeah, we got it, Joker," I say as I stand up, stretching.

As I nod at Jane and we both start making our way down the ship, Joker asks to Kaidan, "Is it me or does the Captain always sound a little pissed off?"

"Only when talking to you, Joker," was Kaidan's brutally honest answer. As usual.

(Sorry it took so long for me to do this guys, my school exams are becoming difficult to prepare for, but I promise the next post will be at least twice as long as this and not take as long to write)


	8. Chapter 8

As Jane and I walked around the right side of the Galaxy map, we heard Corporal Jenkins arguing with Doctor Chakwas about whether there was something off about this mission, but Jane and I both ignored it and enter the Comm room.

When we entered, however, we saw that Nihlus was alone.

Instantly I was alert and asked, "Where's the captain?"

"He'll be here soon," Nihlus said, a trace of boredom in his voice. "I'm interested in this world we're going to, Eden Prime?"

Jane nodded. "That's the world," she said, a hint of dislike in her voice.

"I've heard it's quite beautiful.." He carried on.

"My cousin told me it was a paradise, once," I said.

"Indeed?" Nihlus sounded like he cared more about whether he had shit on the bottom of his boot.

"But a paradise... yes. Serene. Tranquil. Safe... Eden Prime has become something of a symbol for your people, hasn't it? Proof that Humanity can not only establish colonies across the Galaxy, but also protect them. But how safe is it, really?"

I frowned. "Are you trying to scare us, Spectre?" I growled at him.

"Your people are still new to the rest of the Galaxy, Nervars. The Galaxy can be a very dangerous place. Is the Alliance truly ready for this?"

"I think it's about time you told us what's really going on, Nihlus," Jane said as Anderson walked in.

"I agree, Commander. Don't you, Andrew?" He said as he walked past us to join Nihlus.

"We already know this is more than a shakedown run," I said.

"I'm not surprised you figured that out, Nervars," Nihlus said. "You're as intelligent as they say."

"We're making a covert pick up on Eden Prime, that's why we need the Stealth Systems operational," Anderson said, watching us closely.

"What're we getting, Captain?" Jane asked, curiosity evident in her voice.

"A research team unearthed some kind of Beacon on Eden Prime during an excavation. It was Prothean."

"What else do we need to know?" I asked.

"This is big, Commanders. The last time we unearthed something like this, it jumped our technology forwards by over two hundred years." Anderson explained.

"But Eden Prime doesn't have the facilities to handle something like this, right?" I directed the question at no one in particular.

"So it would need to be brought back to the Citadel, right Captain?" Jane finished.

Nihlus nodded. "Exactly. And this doesn't just benefit Humanity, this could greatly benefit all species in council space."

I frowned. "Are we supposed to expect trouble?"

Nihlus stepped forward a little. "I'm always expecting trouble."

"There's more, Commanders. Nihlus isn't just here for the Beacon. He is here to evaluate you both."

"What's going on, Captain?" Jane asked.

"The Alliance has been pushing for this for a long time," Anderson explained. "Humanity wants a larger role in shaping interstellar policy. We want more to say with the Citadel Council. The Spectres represent the Council's power authority. If they accept a Human into their ranks, it shows how far the Alliance has come."

Nihlus stepped forwards again. "Not many could have survived what you two did on Akuze. Andrew, when they found you, they said that so much biotic use should have killed you three times over. Jane, your wounds were so severe, you should have been dead within hours. You both showed an incredible will to survive – A particularly useful talent."

"Which is why he put your names forward as candidates for the Spectres." Anderson explained.

I blinked and frowned, emotions conflicted inside me at the thought.

"So.. what do we have to do?" Jane asked.

"I need to see your skills for myself, this will be the first of several missions together," Nihlus said, satisfaction in his voice.

_I wonder if he ever turns to the stick up his ass as a backup weapon... _I thought, missing the first few words of what Anderson said next.

"-Will in charge of the ground team. Nervars, you will stay here and monitor their progress, the next mission will be yours."

Jane and I look at eachother. We always were uneasy about going into any possible dangerous situation without eachother.

"It'll be fine," I nodded confidently at her and she nodded back.

I stood up. "I'll go set things up with Joker while you explain what Jane will do down there," I explained while walking back out of the comm room.

"Well?" Demanded a very pissed off looking Navigator Pressley.

"Well what?" I asked him, already bored.

"Why are we really here?" He asked, getting more impatient.

I shrugged. "Classified, sorry," I walked around him, smirking at the look on his face.


	9. Chapter 9

Kaidan walked past me as I headed back to the cockpit and I nodded politely, which he replied with a small grin.

_Okay... I wonder what the grin was about._

"Hey Joker," I said as I sat back in my chair on his left.

"Just sent the Captain an.. interesting video, Commander. You might wanna see it."

I got a little nervous. "Does it make things harder for Jane?" I asked, keeping my voice neutral.

He hesitated. "More than you would like."  
"Show it to me." I replied far too quickly and with more authority than I had ever used before, causing him to look at me in shock before playing the video.

The sound of gunfire appeared before the video appeared, which showed a woman in white armour with red stripes shooting at an enemy off-screen while various other people were shooting in the same direction that she was.

The woman ran towards whoever was holding the camera and shouted for them to get down as a small blue-flamed explosion scorched the ground where she was just standing.

"Get down!" She shouted, pushing the camera-person to the floor, giving the camera another view of the woman shooting more enemies off-screen before more blue-flamed explosions showed as the camera was moved around.

"Shit.." I whispered, fear clutching my heart as I realized that Jane had to go down there.

A man ran to the camera, shouting: "We are under attack!" The fear in his voice was evident but he still kept his slight tone of authority, leading me to assume he was an officer.

"Taking heavy casualties! I repeat: Heavy casualties! We can't.." A heavy explosion set off behind him and he grunted, protecting his head with his arms before continuing. "-Eed evac! They came out of nowhere.. We need-"

The man suddenly tensed and a trickle of blood escaped his mouth before his face went slack and he collapsed to the ground.

Suddenly everyone stopped fighting and looked up in horror while the enemy still fired at them.

Then the camera turned to see a huge metal object descending to the planet.

"Ships like that can't land though, right Joker?" I asked in horror as the ship got even lower.

Suddenly the person holding the camera started shooting and the camera was moved about quickly, making it impossible to see much of anything until the video suddenly cut out.

"After that, the video just cuts out. There's nothing. No comm traffic at all."

I stared at Joker in horror. "We can't let them go down there."  
"The captain thought you might react like that and so has ordered you directly to stay here unless ordered otherwise by him alone. Failure to follow this order and you will be assigned to another ship." Joker shook his head. "I'm sorry, Andrew."

I looked down, feeling both rage and sorrow battling under the surface of my skin.

Then suddenly Joker had his arm around my shoulders.

"I know how much you care for her, but she's a good fighter and will be fine, especially with Kaidan and Jenkins down there with her."

I nodded slowly. "They're good men, amazing in a fight," I said slowly.

"They're down, opening video transmition now."

My eyes shot open and I glared at the screen until Jane, Kaidan and Jenkins appeared on the screen, pausing before Jane gave the signal and Jenkins walked out before he was suddenly getting shot by what looked like some small synthetic flying droid.

"Jenkins!" Jane and I both shouted at the exact same time.  
I sat back in my chair as Jenkins collapsed to the ground and Jane drew her pistol, running out into what was now a small battlefield and shot at one of the droids while Kaidan threw one backwards and held another in stasis to protect Jane while she dealt with the first one.

Kaidan pointed at a droid and hit it with another throw while shooting at it and Jane nodded, decimating the remaining droid with a warp, leaving three now smoking wreckages lying on the floor.

Jane wasted no time and ran to where Jenkins had fallen, feeling for a pulse with shaky fingers.

"I got something!" She shouted in triumph.

She instantly got a hold of us over radio and said that Jenkins was alive but in no condition to fight.

"Fuck it," I growled. "I should be down there.."

"Yes. You should." Captain Anderson walked up behind us and folded his arms.

"Commander, I need you to suit up and meet Jane down there, I will have Jenkins brought back up here and taken to the medbay.

"Yes, thank you Captain!" I said hastily before running down the length of the ship and took the elevator down to the armoury.

"Don't worry Jane, I'll be there soon.."

(Really sorry about my stupid lack of posting, I'll post more tomorrow :/)


	10. Chapter 10

I jumped off of the Normandy down onto the almost burned-looking hard brown ground.

Jane and Kaidan were waiting for me next to Jenkins and I ran over.

"How's he looking?" I asked, fear causing me to go a little cold while I crouched next to him and medics surrounded us all.

A medic answered before either Jane or Kaidan had a chance to.

"His pulse is weak but stable, he needs immediate medical treatment."

I stood up and nodded at Jane.

"We gonna do this or what?" I grinned with uncharacteristic glee that I didn't really feel.

"After you, Commanders." Kaidan said with a scowl that made me rethink my grin.

Jane and I nodded simultaneously and started walking next to eachother, leaving the medics behind.

We walked in silence for a few minutes, Jane and Kaidan were obviously very tense from what happened to Jenkins, yet it didn't seem to affect me.

I started getting a little worried about my total emotional deadness when suddenly my barriers were getting hit and I instinctively jumped behind a nearby rock calling out, "Behind cover!"

Jane and Kaidan didn't hesitate and were jumping behind their own boulders as I drew my pistol and sent a warp towards the nearest of two little droids shooting at us.

Kaidan threw the second droid into the rock wall, smashing it to pieces while Jane shot the other in what appeared to be a small sensor that was functioning as an eye, causing it to collapse to the ground and stop functioning.

I turned to Jane and opened my mouth to say something when more shooting was heard in the distance.

"Someone else is here!" Kaidan shouted and I instantly turned and ran towards the sound, remembering what happened to Jenkins and refusing to let that happen to someone else, anyone else.

_Hah, looks like you're feeling it now, doesn't it?_

I ignored the thought and started sprinting towards the sound.

And that was when a woman ran round a corner straight into me.

I was almost instantly back on my feet, pain subsiding as I was once again filled with adrenaline and my biotics flared in both hands, replacing the pistol that I dropped when I fell.

There wasn't any droids around us.

I frowned and looked again but all I saw was-  
Oh.

"Are those Geth?" Jane shouted as she started firing.

I lifted one and slammed it as hard as I could into a second with a force easily enough to crush a man's bones and they just stood back up.

"Fuck.. aim or their eye!" I shouted, looking around and grabbing my pistol before hiding behind an empty crate.

Almost instantly after that one of the Geth went down by Ashley's gun while Jane and I aimed at another, causing it's head to blow almost completely off.

It seemed to be going well until I felt a shooting pain in my right arm and I shouted, going back under cover.

I slowly applied Medi-Gel, wincing as I applied pressure to the new hole in my arm.

A few seconds later Jane walked over. "Looks like someone wasn't watching their barriers again, bro."

I ignored her and moved over to the woman.

"We saw you in the distress call.." I said.

"I'm Commander Nervars and this is.."  
"Commander Shepard." The woman said, nodding.

"I'm Chief Williams," she said.

"Though most of the people here had taken to calling me Ashley."  
I frowned slightly. "Ashley, if you don't mind us asking..." I started.

"What the hell happened here?" Jane finished.


	11. Chapter 11

A few minutes later, Ashley had told us everything she knew and Jane turned to me.

"Andrew, we both know that there are too many people to go unnoticed here."

I knew what she was going to say next and I shook my head.

"Jane, I am not going back to the ship."

"This is my mission Andrew, and I am not risking your wellbeing. Ashley and Kaidan are capable in battle and I'm not risking you. You will go back to the ship. Now."

Neither Jane's tone of voice nor her stone-cold glare left any room to argue with her, so I just turned on my heel and started walking back to where we had left Jenkins with the doctors.

Watching them on that damn screen.

It felt like I had just been watching them for months when it couldn't have been more than five minutes.

Spikes sticking up out of the ground started sinking down lower, stopping just a few feet above the floor.

"Wait, what are-" Kaidan started to say as this mission turned into a living nightmare.

What appeared to once have been humans started pulling themselves off of these spikes, but, whatever they were then was certainly not natural.

They had a dark grey, shiny skin with blue cracks all over their body with haunting blue eyes.

I had felt paralysed in my seat just watching them on a screen, so it didn't surprise me that no one down there had dared to move an inch for almost five seconds when Jane finally snapped them out of their daze.

Jane glowed a deep blue and threw one of these husk-looking creatures into another, causing them both to just... break apart.

"They're weak, hit their legs!" Jane shouted, drawing her pistol and firing at the legs of the creatures, causing them to shred and fall apart.

"What are those..?" Joker whispered in horror.

My blood froze. I had never once heard Joker sound so scared before.

"I don't.." I started to say as Jane finished off the last of them.

"Damn." I said plainly as I stood up.

"Andrew? What's wrong?" Joker asked as I started walking away.

"Gotta pee!" I called over my shoulder, making all crew in earshot laugh a little, it was well known that I had the weakest bladder on the ship and everyone, including myself, made several jokes about it on a regular basis.

After I had taken care of that business and returned to Joker, Jane was crouched over the body of Nihlus while a man behind some crates was backing away.

"Nihlus!" I half-shouted.

"I know." Joker said. "Some other Turian, Saren, shot him."

Confusion set in almost immediately.

"Does it have something to do with the real reason why we're here?" I asked, wondering if Joker had been informed.

"The device?" Joker whispered, confirming that he had. "Yeah, I think so," he carried on saying in his normal loud manner.

I shook my head and clenched my teeth slightly.

"This can't be good..." I muttered as I stood, turned on my heel and walked down through the Normandy, heading to the medbay.

"You can't come in here, Commander," said a relatively new doctor, one of the very few that wasn't working on Jenkins, as I tried walking into the medbay.

"And why would that be?" I growled, not in the mood to be stopped.

"Jenkins is in critical condition, a shock could-"

"Is he awake?" I asked, cutting in massively.

"No." The doctor said plainly. "So there is no point even coming in if you want to talk to him. He will be out for at least another few hours."  
I shook my head and looked the young man over.

I wasn't sure what it was about him, but there was something I really didn't like, whether it was the way his dark brown eyes shifted slightly when he spoke or the weird way he styles his short blond hair but there was something just not right about him.

"Just... let me know when he wakes up please, I would like to see if he is alright as soon as possible," I said simply before turning and walking back up to the cockpit.

"Bastard," I whispered as I walked away.


End file.
